Chapter 516: Madness and Lunacy

A moment later.

The pale teal barrier gradually faded.

Atop the ruins in the center of the battlefield, the most striking figure was a tall man with silver hair; his brows were cold, his features handsome.

Besides him were the Immortal Patriarchs and those ten mysterious individuals.

The one-armed Xu Yan Zhi was supported by Fang Tai Immortal Patriarch, his complexion ghastly, looking utterly disheveled.

Kui Qian Immortal Patriarch's voice rang across the Floating Capital Battlefield: "Everyone, the sect-wide competition has concluded; as for Yuan Yao's match with the half-demon Xie Zixu, the Immortal Patriarchs have deliberated and decided—"

"Yuan Yao, victory!"

"The rankings of the Three Islands and the Ninth Province are as above!"

Everyone stared, and saw that the Ninth Province, by a margin of one point, topped the competition rankings!

The First Province fell to second place!

The Ninth Province's people erupted in cheers.

"We, the Ninth Province, are number one!"

"Hahaha……"

Many kept laughing wildly.

Aside from the Ninth Province, cultivators from other provinces and islands wore varied expressions.

The First Province's crowd was utterly resentful.

Yet at this moment, not a single person from the First Province dared to question the result.

Because Xie Zixu's identity is sensitive, declaring him the winner would be a slap in the face of the entire cultivation world.

And thereafter, the Immortal Patriarchs did not mention Yuan Yao's protection of the half-demon Xie Zixu.

Formless Immortal Patriarch Xu Yan Zhi vanished in the blink of an eye.

The ten mysterious City-Guard Elders also disappeared under everyone's gaze.

Qian Jue Shan stepped forward to the Carefree Sect's line, reached for Yuan Yao's wrist, took her pulse, and transmitted true qi to her.

Yuan Yao looked up at Qian Jue Shan, "I'm sorry, Master……"

Qian Jue Shan said nothing, simply gazing steadily at her.

At that moment, Song Yan began recounting the whole story to Qian Jue Shan.

After listening, Qian Jue Shan lightly furrowed his brows, "You want to raise a half-demon?"

Yuan Yao was stunned.

Cang Li hurriedly said, "Master, that half-demon is a friend she knows. Moreover, that half-demon has already been killed by Xu Yan Zhi."

Qian Jue Shan stared deeply at Yuan Yao.

Yuan Yao's heart leapt, a hint of insecurity in her voice: "Master……"

Qian Jue Shan asked, "You already knew his identity?"

Yuan Yao shook her head, then nodded conflictedly.

"I know he has two identities, but I didn't know he was a half-demon."

Qian Jue Shan said gravely, "He blocked a sword for you?"

Yuan Yao: "Yes."

Qian Jue Shan fell silent, asking nothing further.

Xiao Lingwei spoke up, "Master, Yuan Yao has been constantly entering the arena these past days, and just now she was trembling with fear; she must be exhausted."

Qian Jue Shan glanced at them, "All of you return with the sect leader to rest; I will handle the rest."

…

After Kui Qian Immortal Patriarch announced the competition's end, the cultivators on the Floating Capital Battlefield gradually left.

Yuan Yao also returned to the annex with her senior brothers and sisters.

Until the moment she lay on the bed, she was still a little dazed.

She was exhausted; the wounds on her body and internal injuries gave her intense pain.

After a while, she slipped into a heavy sleep.

When she awoke, she found it was night.

She sat up, rubbed her temples, and looked up to see Second Senior Sister sitting in the outer room beyond the screen.

Xiao Lingwei seemed to notice she had awakened, rose, circled the screen, and walked toward her.

Yuan Yao stretched out both arms toward her.

Xiao Lingwei naturally moved in front of her, letting her hug her, her head resting on Xiao Lingwei's abdomen.

Xiao Lingwei gently touched her head, "How do you feel?"

"My head isn't hurting much," Yuan Yao said dependently while hugging her, "Second Senior Sister, how long have I slept?"

"One day and one night."

"Has Master returned? What did he say? Will the Carefree Sect be implicated because of me?"

"Master came back once; he sat by the bedside and kept watch over you for half an hour," Xiao Lingwei said. "How could the Carefree Sect be so easily implicated by you? Moreover, our sect is pure and needs no fear. Rest assured, Master has already dealt with the matter, and you won't be subjected to soul-search scrutiny."

Yuan Yao exhaled a sigh of relief.

She silently sensed the contract power with Xie Yan, and discovered that this faint contract power was showing signs of strengthening, causing her heart to leap.

Xiao Lingwei sat at the bedside, her clear eyes fixed on Yuan Yao, "Why do you care so much about Xie Yan?"

Yuan Yao regained her composure and spoke, a hint of insecurity in her voice.

"I'm not just friends with him."

Xiao Lingwei fell silent, "Why didn't you tell me?"

Yuan Yao had just wanted to speak when she heard Xiao Lingwei softly sigh, "You've grown up, and you have your own little secrets."

Xiao Lingwei paused briefly, then smiled: "But this is also a good thing."

Yuan Yao lifted her gaze: "Second Senior Sister, aren't you angry?"

Xiao Lingwei's voice was gentle and firm: "Why would I be angry? Just because you're hiding your feelings for someone else? Yao Yao, I'm a part of your life, not someone who wants to take over your whole life. Everyone is independent, each with their own little secrets, their own thoughts, their own choices."

"If I really had to pick a point to be angry about, it's that you disregard your own safety to protect Xie Yan. This makes me very unhappy. Because in my heart, you matter more than Xie Yan, more than anyone else! If something were to happen to you, Second Senior Sister would be devastated." Xiao Lingwei said this, glaring at Yuan Yao, her tone also turning a bit colder.

Yuan Yao said weakly: "I thought I could control the whole situation, but I still underestimated Xu Yanzhi's madness."

In her impression, the male lead Xu Yanzhi shouldn't be someone who disregards his image, yet in the matter of killing Xie Yan, he is so obstinate, it's like a mad dog seeing a bone and refusing to let go.

This also made her realize something.

Xie Yan, in the original novel's plot, is not a deep‑emotion male supporting character; he is very likely——

The one standing opposite the male and female leads!

Someone who can make Xu Yanzhi so wary must be extremely formidable!

Then Xie Yan must not die!

"You think you can control things?" Xiao Lingwei curled her finger and tapped her forehead, saying irritably: "Do you not know that everyone present is an Immortal Sovereign? A single finger of theirs could crush you!"

Yuan Yao muttered: "Second Senior Sister, you're exaggerating. Their finger shouldn't be able to crush me."

Xiao Lingwei laughed angrily: "Your gall is truly getting bigger and bigger, fearing neither heaven nor earth—who did you learn that from?"

"Myself."

Xiao Lingwei: "……"

She suddenly recalled past events—Yuan Yao's boldness wasn't just a matter of a day or two; before, her cultivation wasn't high, yet she always loved doing extremely challenging things. Now her cultivation grows deeper day by day, her wings have hardened, and the things she does are even more shocking, each time more nerve‑wracking than the last!

Now her cultivation grew deeper by the day, her wings had hardened, and the things she did were ever more shocking and earth‑shattering, each time making people break out in a cold sweat!